The member of Parliament for the Bolgatanga Central constituency, Issac Adongo has called on the government to take steps to reform the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) which at its current state hinders development at the local level.
According to the Bolgatanga central legislator who is also a Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament Select’s Committee on Finance, the district assembly’s common fund is paid in quarters which sometimes delay.
The delay in the release of the district assembly common fund especially the third quarter makes it difficult for assemblies to effectively plan and put the fund into proper use before closing the fiscal year.
Adding that this is because the GIFMIS structure automatically ends the year on the last day of every December which makes it difficult to spend the fourth quarter’s money even if it was given to the assemblies.
Addressing journalists shortly after a public hearing of the Bolgatanga the municipal 2022 composite budget at the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs’ Conference hall in Bolgatanga, Mr. Adongo said “in principle, we talk about four quarters in a year, in terms of the financial arrangements, we are technically talking about three quarters in a year. So we are seeing a situation where they get the first, quarter second quarter, third quarter, and the fourth quarter because it enters the following year by which time the appropriation would have expired and they have only one month within that Period to also close enterings into the GIFMIS. They are not going to be able to spend the fourth quarter money even if was given to them before 31st January.”
Mr. Adongo further indicated that,
“if you are aware that the financing from the common fund particularly the consolidated fund is that the disbursers are made to the common fund at least a quarter in areas.
And so a quarter in areas for the fourth quarter would mean somewhere in March by which time the appropriation for the year has expired, by which time you have noticed that the GIFMIS system itself will not make the expenditure for the previous years available for you to spend that money. So you have money being transferred to you but technically it’s not available for you to spend.”
He is therefore calling on the government and the legislature to take steps to amend the public financial management art and arrangements to the GIFMIS to make it easy for the assemblies to have access to the money to champion the developmental needs at the district assembly level.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Samuel Adagom|Ghana
